Door closing and check device for refrigerators, freezers and the like

ABSTRACT

A door closing and check device for refrigerators, freezers and the like is disclosed which employs a stationary bushing, including a hinge pin formed integrally therewith, mounted to the cabinet having four upperly directed cam lobes which engage four complementary, downwardly directed cam lobes of a rotable bushing mounted to the door and rotating in its hinge axis. The lobes of the two bushings are located relative to each other to cause the weight of the door to swing the same to its closed position from a partially open position as well as to check and maintain the door in two successively wider open positions of approximately 85* and a 175*. The two bushings are also formed in a manner to prevent their improper installation and consequent misfunction in the door and cabinet.

United States Patent 91 Bourgeois [451 Mar. 27, 1973 [75] Inventor:Joseph F. Bourgeois, Cedar Rapids,

Iowa

[73] Assignee: Amana Refrigeration, lnc., Amana,

Iowa

[22] Filed: Apr. 20, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 135,628

[52] US. Cl. ..l6/l53 [51 Int. Cl. ..E05f 1/06 [58] Field of Search..16/l53,152,154,155,l56

Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Assistant Examiner-Doris L. TroutmanAttomey1-laven E. Simmons and James C. Nemmers ABSTRACT A door closingand check device for refrigerators, freezers and the like is disclosedwhich employs a stationary bushing, including a hinge pin formed integrally therewith, mounted to the cabinet having four upperly directedcam lobes which engage four complementary, downwardly directed cam lobesof a rotable bushing mounted to the door and rotating in its hinge axis.The lobes of the two bushings are located relative to each other tocause the weight of the door to swing the same to its closed positionfrom a partially open position as well as to check and maintain the doorin two successively wider open positions of approximately 85 and a 175.The two bushings are i also formed in a manner to prevent their improperin- 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATUHI'DHARZYIOIB INVENTOR.

JOSEPH F BOURGEOIS.

- FIG 4B ATTORNEY DOOR CLOSING AND CHECK DEVICE FOR REFRIGERATORS,FREEZERS AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Especially in the caseof refrigerators and freezers employing magnetic door gaskets, it isdesirable for obvious reasons to include some device by which the dooris positively closed in order to prevent the door from inadvertentlybeing left slightly ajar. It is also desirable that the door bepositively checked and maintained in several open positions so that itwill not swing shut unless urged to do so and at the same time will notswing.

open wider and bump its handle against a wall or other object adjacentthe cabinet. Typically desirable such positions are those somewhat lessthan 90 and 180 if there are walls or objects which the door wouldstrike if fully opened those extents. Likewise, whatever the deviceused, it should be inexpensive, quiet, long laston both right and lefthand hinged doors. They are also often noisy. The use of springsinherently detracts from their attractiveness since springs-can weakenor even break over long periods rendering the devices useless. Hence theprimary object of the present invention is to provide a door closing andcheck device which is simple, inexpensive, effective and long lasting,requiring little mounting space and no springs, as well as being proofagainst improper installation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing object is achieved byemploying apair of cam members incorporated directly into one of the hinges of thedoor. Both cam members are integral pieces. One member, the stationaryone, which also acts as the hinge pin, is secured to a hinge platefastened to the cabinet and is formed to provide four symmetrical,upwardly directed cam lobes extending radially from the hinge axis andequally spaced circumferentially thereabout. The other member, themoving one, which fits over the stationary member, is fixed to the doorand formed to provide four complementary, downwardly directed cam lobesabout the hinge axis which rotate on the stationary lobes as the door isswung, the toes and heels of the lobes respectively engaging the heelsand toes of the stationary lobes. The two members are positionedrelative to each other so that when the door is slightly ajar,interaction between the ramps of the respective lobes causes the weightof the door to positively swing it shut and to maintain it pressedagainst the cabinet. Thereafter, as the door is swung open wider, it ischecked and held in two successive positions owing to the number andrelative positions of the-two sets of lobes, the first position beingsomewhat less than 90 and the second somewhat less than 180 of dooropening. A square shank on the rotatable member fixes the position ofits lobes relative to the door and a key on the stationary memberengages its hinge plate to fix the position of its lobes relative to thecabinet in order to locate the two sets of lobes relative 'to each otherto achieve proper closing and checking action. A

Many advantages stem from the foregoing. In the first place, only twosimple, integral members are required .which in effect largely merelyreplace the hinge pin and bushings that are normally used anyway in thehinges of doors of the types concerned. Thus little or no additionalinstallation space, material or assembly time is required. In the secondplace, the two members are relatively inexpensive being preferably steelcastings with the lobes chromium plated. Third, there are no springs orother moving parts to weaken or break; simply the weight of the dooralone provides the desired closing and checking action. Indeed, thegreater the load on the door, owing for instance to filling its shelves,the greater the closing and checking action, whereas when springs areused the very opposite is the case. The fact that several cam lobes areused on each member decreases the load on each lobe and so prolongs thelife of the device and insures trouble-free operation. And finally, thedevice can be readily used for either left or right hand hinged doorsinterchangeably, and the square shank and locating key of the twomembers make their installation foolproof, that is to say, they cannotbe installed on the assembly line so that Grey are improperly alignedwith each other.

Other and further features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the more detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial, frontelevationview of a typical refrigerator or freezer or the like showingthe invention incorporated therein, the outer panel of the door beingbroken away and all insulation omitted for clarity.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view takenalong the line 22 of FIG. 1 illustratingthe position of the rotable cam member.

- FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1illustrating the position of the stationary cam member. I

FIGS. 4A and 4B are enlarged views of the rotable cam member itselfillustrating its details.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are enlarged views of the stationary cam memberillustrating its details.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1, a typicalrefrigerator or freezer cabinet is designated by the reference numeral10 while 11 designates an interior compartment thereof for either foodstorage or freezing. The machinery compartment is designated generallyat 12 which is normally closed by a suitable grille (not shown) and isseparated from the compartment 11 by an insulated partition 13. To thetop of the cabinet 10 is secured an upper hinge plate 14 having an upsetportion 15 projecting forwardly of the cabinet 10 and provided with anupper vertical hinge pin 16. Below the hinge plate 14 and secured to thepartition 13 is a lower hinge plate 17 extending forwardly of thecabinet 10. A door 20 overlies and closes the .compartment 11 against asuitable gasket 21, the upper edge of the door 20 adjacent one comerbeing fitted with a suitable flanged bushing 22 in which the upper hingepin 16 is journaled, while the lower edge of the door 20 therebelow isfitted with a cam bushing 23 having a round, upper shank 24, the

lower portion 25 of which is squared and fits through a suitable squaredhole 26 in the lower edge of the door 20, thus fixing the bushing 23relative to the door 20. The interior of the shank 24 is provided with acylindrical bore 27, extending through the bushing 23 in axial alignmentwith the hinge pin 16, in which is joumaled the upper potion of acylindrical shank 28 extending above and below a second cam bushing 29beneath the bushing 23. The shank 28, which thus acts as a lower hingepin, and the bushing 29 are also bored at 30 in order to provide apassage into the door 20 for electrical cables, while the portion ofshank 28 below the bushing 29 is provided with serrations 31 or similarmeans to fix the bushing 29 against rotation in a hole 32 through thelower hinge plate 17.

As will be observed from the drawings, the lower face of the bushing 23and the upper face of the bushing 29 are each integrally formed toprovide two complementary sets of four cam lobes 35 equally spacedcircumferentially around the shanks 24 and 28, the toes 36 of the lobes35 extending radially therefrom. Ramps 37 incline smoothly away from thetoes 36 and form radially extending heels 38 between adjacent lobes 35.While as noted preferably cast steel is employed for the bushings 23 and29, and the lobes 35 are chromium plated, obviously other materialscould be used, even suitable plastics. Next, it will be observed fromFIG. 2, opposite pairs of theheels 38 of the rotable bushing 23 aredisposed slightly askew of the plane of the door 20 as indicated byangle A in FIG. 2 which is preferably about the hole 26 being punched inthe door 20 to dispose the square shank 25 accordingly, while the toes36 of the stationary bushing 29 are disposed parallel and at rightangles to the plane of the door 20 when closed, as illustrated in FIG.3. Consequently, as illustrated in FIG. 1 with the door 20 in its closedposition, the respective toes 36 of the bushing 23 do not quite seat onthe respective heels 38 of the bushing 29, but instead the respectiveramps 37 only of the two are engaged whereby the resulting interactiontherebetween and the weight of the door 20 tend to press the latteragainst the cabinet 10. The same action closes the door 20 ifinadvertently left slightly ajar. When on the other hand the door isopened towards its 90 position, the respective lobes 35 of the bushing23 will rotate on those of the stationary bushing 29, raising the dooron the hinge pin 16 and the shank 28 and then lowering it until therespective toes 36 and heels 38 of the two bushings 23 and 29 seat uponeach other in their next relative location, whereupon the door 20 willbe checked and maintained at an angle of approximately 85 with respectto its'closed position owing to the skewed position of the bushing 23.Further opening of the door will in like manner check and maintain it atapproximately 175, it being noted that the upset portion 15 of the upperhinge plate 14 is formed to provide sufficient space above the bushing22 to permit the door 20 to rise and fall on the hinge pin 16 and shank28 as it is opened and closed. Using more than four lobes on eachbushing 23 and 29 would obviously provide additional check positions forthe door 20 as well as decreasing the load and thus the wear on thelobes.

As previously mentioned, the square shank 25 accurately locates therotable bushing 23 in its skewed position relative to the door 20. Inthose installations in which the door 20 is adapted to be hinged alongeither edge, the opposite lower corner of the door is also punched toprovide a square hole, skewed similar to the hole 26, to receive theshank 25 when the door 20 is hung as a right hand door, instead of aleft hand one as shown. In order to locate the stationary bushing 29relative to the cabinet 10, the lower portion of its shank 28 adjacentthe serrations 31 is provided-with a key 39 which engages an appropriaterecess in the wall of the bore 32 through the hinge plate 17. When thelatter is also used for a right-hand instead of a left-hand hinged door,it too will still accurately locate the bushing 29. Thus in all casesimproper alignment of the two bushings 23 and 29 is impossible duringassembly.

Though the invention has been described in terms of a particularembodiment, being the best mode known of carrying out the invention, itis not limited to that.

embodiment alone. Instead, the followingclaims are to be read asencompassing all adaptations and modifications of the invention fallingwithin its spirit and scope.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator or freezer or the like having a closed cabinet anda door hinged about a vertical axis for access to said cabinet by hingemeans permitting raisable movement of said door along said axis, saidhinge means including door closing and check means in combinationtherewith, said closing and check means comprising: a stationary memberand a cooperating rotable member, said stationary member being fixedrelative to said cabinet and said rotable member being secured to saiddoor to rotate in said hinge axis upon hinged movement of said door, oneof said members including an integral hinge pin and the other of saidmembers an integral sleeve receiving said hinge pin for rotation thereinin said axis, said rotable member also including at least one pair ofdiametrically opposite downwardly directed cam lobes spaced about saidaxis and said stationary member at least one pair of diametricallyopposite upwardly directed complementary cam lobes equally spaced aroundsaid axis, said cam lobes having diametrically extending toes anddiametrically extending ramps inclining away from the sides of saidtoes, the respective ramps of adjacent pairs of cam lobes havingdiametrically extending heels therebetween, said rotable cam lobesoverlying said stationary lobes with the respective toes and heels ofsaid rotable member successively engaging respective heels and toes ofsaid stationary member during hinged movement of said door, one of saidmembers including a portion positively locating the diametrical axis ofone pair of said lobes thereof at a right angle with respect to theplane of said door, and other of said members including a portionpositively locating the diametrical axis of one pair of said lobesthereof at an acute angle relative to the plane of said door, wherebyinteraction between respective ramps of said members and the weight ofsaid door tends to positively press said door against said cabinet whensaid door is closed and when said door is swung open to check itsmovement and maintain the same in an open position, said portions 2. Thecombination of claim 1. wherein said hinge pin is hollow and opens atits axial ends to provide a conduit through both of said members for thepassage of cables from said cabinet into said door.

1. In a refrigerator or freezer or the like having a closed cabinet anda door hinged about a vertical axis for access to said cabinet by hingemeans permitting raisable movement of said door along said axis, saidhinge means including door closing and check means in combinationtherewith, said closing and check means comprising: a stationary memberand a cooperating rotable member, said stationary member being fixedrelative to said cabinet and said rotable member being secured to saiddoor to rotate in said hinge axis upon hinged movement of said door, oneof said members including an integral hinge pin and the other of saidmembers an integral sleeve receiving said hinge pin for rotation thereinin said axis, said rotable member also including at least one pair ofdiametrically opposite downwardly directed cam lobes spaced about saidaxis and said stationary member at least one pair of diametricallyopposite upwardly directed complementary cam lobes equally spaced aroundsaid axis, said cam lobes having diametrically extending toes anddiametrically extending ramps inclining away from the sides of saidtoes, the respective ramps of adjacent pairs of cam lobes havingdiametrically extending heels therebetween, said rotable cam lobesoverlying said stationary lobes with the respective toes and heels ofsaid rotable member successively engaging respective heels and toes ofsaid stationary member during hinged movement of said door, one of saidmembers including a portion positively locating the diametrical axis ofone pair of said lobes thereof at a right angle with respect to theplane of said door, and other of said members including a portionpositively locating the diametrical axis of one pair of said lobesthereof at an acute angle relative to the plane of said door, wherebyinteraction between respective ramps of said members and the weight ofsaid door tends to positively press said door against said cabinet whensaid door is closed and when said door is swung open to check itsmovement and maintain the same in an open position, said portionsrespectively engaging means carried by said cabinet and said door toprovide said positive lobe location, said portions and means beingadapted to provide said ramp interaction in case of either a left handor a right hand hang of said door.
 2. The combination of claim 1.wherein said hinge pin is hollow and opens at its axial ends to providea conduit through both of said members for the passage of cables fromsaid cabinet into said door.